There are several reasons why farmers choose to turn their wheat into flour:
- Cooking and baking: Flour is a basic ingredient in the preparation of many foods, such as breads, pastries, pasta and other bakery products. This common foodstuff will always be useful for professionals and private individuals alike.
- Quality control: Processing their own wheat into flour gives farmers greater control over the quality of the ingredients. They can choose higher quality wheat varieties and avoid the additives and preservatives commonly used in commercial flours.
- Taste and flavour: Flour produced from freshly milled wheat can have a superior taste and flavour to commercial flours.
- Health: Freshly milled wheat can be healthier than commercial flours, as it contains more nutrients and fewer additives and preservatives.
- Economy: Processing your own wheat into flour can generate new income on the farm.
- Flexibility: Farmers can choose the varieties of wheat and types of flour that best meet the needs of end customers in terms of cooking, health or budget.
As a farmer with 70 hectares in the Haute-Loire, I decided to produce and process my organic cereals into flour.
For a few months now, I’ve been using an ASTREÏA mill. Some of it is sold to bakers in the surrounding area, and the rest to individuals at the farm. The feedback I’ve had has been very good: the flour is of excellent quality, ideal for bread-making and has an incomparable taste.
As far as I’m concerned, there are no technical problems, and the settings are easy to make. I leave the mill running during the day without any fear, so I can devote myself to other operations.
I highly recommend it!
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